A Whole New Avatar: For a Whole New World!
by SojiroxTenken
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze was supposed to be a ninja, he was supposed too have a great family. But hey things happen, but lets not get ahead of our selves here... he's still gonna save the world even if he has to rely on ghosts from another world, smart allecky new friends, and a flying pet what now! Oh boy this is gonna be one heck'uv an adventure! Brace Yourself New Avatar here!
1. The New Avatar!

A new Avatar for a whole new World.

"People Speaking"

'People's thoughts'

" **Jutsu, Tailed Beast, Summoning Speech"**

' **Tailed beast, Summoning Thoughts'**

Hey everybody Sojiro here. I have to say it has been forever for me and I mean that literally. I don't want to go blubbering about life's woes so to keep it short and sweet life tends to kick when you're down, and sometimes that kick hits you right in the gooley's. I have had some hard times and the i-dous kicked in so I hit that proverbial wall, but thanks to a good smack upside the head from a loved one and taking some time to mull about the fanfic world I've come across an idea that I couldn't silence. I have read some damn good crossovers between Naruto and Avatar the last airbender but I figure I'm going to take a shot at this one. Now to cover it right out the gate this might be a harem and I have justification of sorts but it will be small… max 3-4 if that can even be considered a harem. Also I will be covering Korra but I want to get this out there to, haven't really watched that one so I am going to be reading a lot and looking at clips and any advice is welcome. I hope to make this one believable and get my honest thoughts out there. Yes… Naruto will be the Avatar… and that's all your getting for now, how, why, please read and find out. I would also like to take this time to send a shout out to one of my fave writers here NeonZangetsu… dude you're the man and I hope word reaches you. Have read almost all your stuff and got to say I love it all… keep it up boss. So with that time to take the plunge… see you inside guys.

 **Book One: Earth**

Chapter 1

Finding your own path to destiny.

The Bending Countries had been an interesting place to live from the moment the people had discovered they could bend. The people were diverse and challenging, from the staunchest of the Earth-benders, to the ferocious Fire-benders, to the ever fluid Water-benders, and last but not least the peace loving Air Nomads. The lives of these people had been ever changing even before the Great War that saw the destruction of the Air Nomads. The change did finally come with the return of the Avatar… the only bender alive capable of bending all four elements. Avatar Aang was celebrated as a hero with his defeat of Fire Lord Ozai on the day Sozin's comet came. Fire Lord Ozai had planned to wipe away the Earth Kingdom as his Forefather had done the Air Nomads; utilizing the power the comet granted Fire-benders. However Avatar Aang had learned to use the four elements and with his group of trusted allies faced down the Fire Lord and brought the Great War to its end. As it always does time strode onward and soon the boy became a man, and had a family of his own. Aang and his wife Katara raised a wonderful family, but as it is said that the elements balance each other; the world has its own way of finding balance. Eventually as the Nations began to prosper and progress so too did our young hero's life…until his end finally came. And so to again was the Avatar reborn, in the young woman named Korra. Korra was a brave and often times brash young woman, born of the southern water tribe. She too like Aang found many friends and had many adventures. Many foes fell before Korra; Amon, Zaheer, the Triple Threat Triad, and a woman named Kuvira. But many do not know that the unthinkable happened to our young heroin, and fewer ever spoke of it when they learned. It has been said by many that if the Avatar was killed in the Avatar state a point of which all the previous lives of the Avatar are connected at once, that the cycle would end and the Avatar would cease to exist. True to this fashion Korra in a desperate battle with an enemy she herself could not fathom from another world altogether, was defeated and slain. But the spirits were kind that day…

Korra could feel herself falling helplessly away from everything she knew; everything she loved. It was almost as if she was falling asleep, but she somehow knew that when her eyes closed this time, they would never open again.

'So this is how it ends huh' she thought bitterly to herself as the darkness of the void began to consume her.

It was at this moment that Korra believed all was lost that something miraculous happened; the darkness was suddenly gone replaced by an otherworldly light. Images began flashing before our young heroin's eyes, a mountain with carved faces on it, and an orange masked man. So many things were bombarding her at once she thought she'd get lost in it. Again and again images bombarded her, a world on fire, so many dead, and strangely a boy with hair almost the color of the shining sun at the end filling her with the belief that things could change…but the young boy was huddled crying to himself.

'He's all alone, isn't he' she thought staring at the fading boys back.

Korra realized that she could change it but she didn't know how or why she felt as though she were looking at herself right then; she had never really been alone like that in her whole life.

' **What would you say if I told you that you change those visions, and give yourself peace young Avatar?'** a voice questioned her in the brightness of the light.

Korra recoiled as though she'd been struck, and slapped both of her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming at the top of her lungs. Taking a moment to collect herself she gathered her thoughts and let out the first question on her mind.

'WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHERE ARE WE?' she screamed into the bright light only to realize then and there that she wasn't really speaking but thinking.

A sudden warmth flooded Korra and it left her with the felling as though she were being hugged by all those she loved and held most dear in her heart, it was so overwhelming she began to cry. The warmth began to recede ever so slowly just to give her room to breathe and then she heard it again.

' **My dear child do not cry, this is not a moment to be consumed by grief. I am here to tell you that it is not yet over for you and that you can still see the ones you love again. But know that with this comes a price… the visions you have seen must be stopped. I will give you the chance to be with those you love again and even some others… for that child you saw is the key to everything. You're feeling of oneness with that young one stems from whether or not you accept my offer'**

Korra idly thought about the voice and its offer and came to the honest conclusion, that she didn't care what happened so long as she got to see her loved ones again.

'I'll do it whatever it is I'll do it just tell me when I get to see everyone again and what I got to do, I'm the Avatar so it's my job to make sure none of that stuff that I saw happens anyway.' She responded to the voice confidently.

' **Part of your statement remains true, you should do everything you can to stop the catastrophe that will befall this world by any mean's necessary. And I suppose in a sense you are still the Avatar, but know that this isn't really just about you anymore. I wish you luck young Korra and do take care of young Naruto for me okay… after all he's the first Avatar of his world…he. He.'**

'Wait. What? First Avatar of his world? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY?' She shouted out to the voice as she felt the warmth beginning to ebb away as she was again immersed with the sense of falling. As the short amount of time went by and she passed back into the void to only find that she could now see a light at the end of the dark tunnel she could only ask herself one question, 'What the hell kind of name is Naruto?'

Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze was for all intents and purposes supposed to be one of the happiest kids in the world. His Father was renowned as the famous Yellow Flash of the Hidden Leaf Village and was considered the greatest Kage to have lived from any of the known shinobi villages in the Elemental Nations. His mother was considered the only living pure blood Uzumaki to still be living, and was also renowned as a fierce warrior with a blade and the sealing arts. Last but not least Naruto was considered blessed to have a wonderful sister in Mito the spitting image of their mother but with the added addition of three whisker-like birthmarks on each of her cheeks. But all of these things were irrelevant as far our young hero was concerned because as it always is, there is more to this family than meets the eye. Naruto at the right old age of five was keenly aware of many things the biggest being, his Dad and Mom are great shinobi, and his sister is going to be a great shinobi. But that destiny was not for him as fate would have it. The day that Naruto and Mito were born was not just a day of joy but one of horror and strife for the Hidden leaf Village. Kushina Uzumaki their mother had been burdened with something few knew of… she was the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox spirit Kurama. Kushina was in the process of giving birth when it was not only realized that she was having twins but that the group in the birthing center was attacked by a masked assailant. Through quick thinking Minato was able to get both of his children to safety, but then quickly had to leave to ensure the safety of his wife. After an intense battle with the Masked Man Minato was forced to teleport his two children to himself and try to seal the released Nine Tails into one of his children.

"Minato…please… just re-seal the Nine Tails back inside of me. Don't do this to our daughter." Kushina pleaded

"I'm sorry Kushina but you know I have to do this. You won't survive the process and Naruto…it can't be him and you know that." Minato said outright with a deep amount of regret and pain.

As Minato began the process to start the sealing the retired Third-Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi came upon the scene with a squad of Anbu black ops; and told Minato that he would do the sealing in his place to spare Kushina from having to be a single parent, and have his children grow up without their fathers love. Hiruzen Sarutobi died that day but in turn many a things were changed and he was remembered as a hero to all his people. Hiruzen's sacrifice gave the Namikaze family a chance to be whole, something that in another life wouldn't have happened. Yet still even with that the truth is destiny is a funny thing, and as mentioned before being a ninja just wasn't in our young hero's future. By the time the children were two they were both already speaking and walking, and it was at this time that it became clear that Mito was a prodigy destined for great things as a shinobi…and Naruto was not. Naruto suffered from something that was almost unheard of among children born from family's with a strong lineage among shinobi, his chakra coils hadn't developed. It was diagnosed the moment he was born but had finally been confirmed for it is between the ages of two and three that a spike is seen in an individual's chakra that's show's their development. For all intense and purposes Naruto had been labeled barren where his chakra network was concerned. A few years went by and the Hidden Leaf Village had prospered as it always had, trade was good and it was a time of peace for the village… or so it seemed. The years slowly rolled on to come to the present, where we find our young hero sitting at home in the Hokage estate. The estate itself was considered quite beautiful with a lush garden and plenty of space, it took up about three quarters the space the Hyuga estates did. (Which in actual distance let's say eight city blocks just to put it out there.) At five years old Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze was brighter than most, and a deal great more mature than any his age. Naruto stood at about three feet four inches tall, with a relatively lean build that many would say bordered on the malnourished. His blonde spiky hair was a bit untamed and was already at the point of being long enough that he could emulate his father and tie off a portion at the back. He could be seen wearing a light green hoodie, a light brown pair of cargo pants, and a pair of black shinobi style sandals on his feet. Unlike his sister Naruto did not have the three whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks, and his face was more angular like their fathers, though he shared his skin tone with his mother with it being more of a cream color. If you were to look at our hero's face as he sat in the rocking chair on the back porch of the estate many would realize that his face was one reflecting loneliness and discomfort, his once bright cerulean blue eyes dimmer than they had been only a few years ago. Naruto sat knowing that today would be another one of those days, just like every other birthday had been for him that he could remember.

(A/N: I'm saying it that way because Naruto is quite cognizant of what's going on around him; it almost as if he were a 10 year old trapped in a 5 year olds body. So while he's no Einstein per say he is very smart and mature for his age group.)

Naruto sat under the awning of the porch taking in the evening smells of the leaf village perusing over a scroll detailing a map of the nations. Our young hero was always one to take in any information he could and was always found here, or atop the Hokage monument studying something or the rather. At the age of four his parents had already begun training his sister in the use of chakra and had begun to distance themselves from him. Minato was already busy with his work as the Hokage, and it seemed difficult for Kushina to train one child and keep the other occupied. Naruto was a smart boy, and immediately knew the reason for his parent's distance, his inability to utilize chakra. He had gone too them two days ago asking for training in even the more rudimentary skills a shinobi needs like stealth, information gathering, or even taijutsu so that he could start to at least interact with the other children when they would come over to visit. Both of his parents had looked at him at the dinner table with almost a disappointed look and given him the same answer they always had.

"I'm sorry Naruto but your sister needs our help, she has a lot that is expected of her and it's our job to make sure she can live up to those expectations." Both of his parents would say.

For Naruto though it was more than the fact that they wouldn't train him or even recognize that he wanted to try, it was the fact that when it came to everything else Mito was still the center of attention; almost as though he wasn't there at all. Everywhere they would go it was all about her, from what they ate to where they shopped, and even on their shared birthday like today Mito was the one everyone saw… but not him. When their birthday celebration would go off most of the clan heads and their children would attend along with the village elders Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and even some of the civilian council. Today was the children's fifth birthday and the party was in full swing, almost everyone was having a great time. Naruto walked by the big brown table laid out in the backyard that was covered with food, cake, and gifts. Upon closer inspection he noticed to his own shock and sadness that it was worse from last year, that while there were still a few gifts with his name on it most of them were addressed to Mito.

Naruto stayed at the party for as long as he could until the singing started, and he realized everyone that was singing was saying "Mito" and not even including him. In true ninja like fashion, which he found ironic, he slipped away from the party with only a few people noticing. Mikoto Uchiha, her son Itachi, and young daughter Satsumi, were among some of the only people to notice of young friends exit from the party; and upon realizing her best friend had let her own son go unnoticed at his own birthday Mikoto planned to speak to Kushina as soon as the festivities were over.

Moments later on the way up the hill to the top of the Hokage Monument, we could find our hero walking with his hands stuffed in his front pockets of his hoodie silent tears rolling down his face.

'Why doesn't anyone see me…it's not my fault I can't use chakra. It's not fair. WHY? WHY doesn't anyone SEE ME?' he raged inside his mind trying to make sense of it all.

The tears continued to roll down his face and he finally decided to try and pull himself together wiping the tears away on the back of one of his sleeves, but unbeknownst to Naruto he was being watched … and wasn't by shinobi.

'He looks so sad… it's wrong what they've done. How could they possibly call themselves parents!?' One voice raged out.

'He could have had a father like mine… Agni for small miracles I guess' another voice intoned.

'So this is why we're here… I feel for the boy, but I still don't understand why you brought me here' one voice said while pointedly addressing the one who had gathered the others.

'Look all of us have a part to play here I'm going to do what I have too, then it's up to each of us in order to teach him what he needs so he can survive this place.' The leader of the consciousness's finally spoke revealing young Avatar Korra.

'Hey look I get it okay he's got it rough, but most of us have and it seems like this place is just like our world. I think that once you unlock his power I should take over his training first, after all I managed yours and twinkle toes and you two turned out great.' One of the voices stated, revealing a young woman in her early twenties in a strange metal suit of armor with dark hair and pale green eyes distinguishing that she's blind.

'Personally I think me, you, and Aang should take over for the first while. Ill teach him stealth, weapons, and espionage while you two can work on his bending and keeping him in control. No offense Korra but the boy might respond to a father figure first.' One voice stated as the void peeled back to reveal a young Fire Lord Zuko about five years after his coronation as the fire lord.

'I'm a little miffed you don't think I can handle this, but in retrospect he is going to have you and Toph so maybe Aang would be the better choice for now. Please make sure he does know that I'll be showing up and what's going on until then okay?' Korra asked of the young fie lord and chief of police.

'Don't you worry Korra…We'll take good care of him and I'll be there to keep these two in line so he doesn't have that difficult a time.' Said another voice as the void peeled back again to reveal a young woman wearing traditional southern water tribe robes, with long flowing black hair, light brown skin, and beautiful light blue eyes.

'Okay Katara I trust you, hey and tell the kid I said hello.' Korra said before she was enveloped in a bright white light that consumed her body.

As the light faded it soon revealed a new person. This man was around five foot eleven with white skin, brown eyes, a shaven head, a small goatee, and blue arrow marking tattoos on his head and hands that were visible. The man was clad in an orange and yellow set of flowing robes reminiscent of what a monk of the fire temple would wear here in the Elemental Countries, and he carried a long wooden staff in his right hand.

'It's been too long everyone… I've missed you all.' The young airbender spoke to his compatriots as he approached them and the four quickly exchanged embraces.

After sharing that moment with his fellow benders and looking around to get a lay for where they were at the young Avatar set his eyes upon the boy who would bring balance to the world and Aang's once smiling visage of turned to one of sadness and slight anger. As they stood behind the boy on the monument waiting to reveal themselves, Aang could only begin to express his discomfort about all of the things that were going to and needed to happen.

'It's not fair… this boy he's even younger than I was when I found out, and what's worse is there are so many people around him and yet he's still alone.' The previous Avatar stated with no little amount of regret and sorrow for the young blonde only a few feet from him and his friends of old.

'Hey look at it this way twinkle-toes, he won't be alone for much longer now, what we need to be concerned about is where in the name of the badger moles is Sokka?' Toph questioned earning grins from Katara and Zuko, but a look of exasperation from Aang.

'Again…Toph…were not kids anymore can't you just call me by my name? And that is a great point I thought Sokka would be here.' Our bald friend stated as he turned to face the first Metal-bender.

'It's okay hunny, Sokka's actually getting a better lay of the city and what we're dealing with. I don't know if you know what Korra was planning but the first thing was to get Naruto out of here as fast as possible.' Katara stated while slipping an arm around her husband.

'Here's hoping he wants to leave otherwise training him is going to be a hell of a chore' Zuko said as he unsheathed his dual Dao swords to inspect them.

'I don't think him leaving is going to be the problem, what I'm concerned about is getting him up to snuff. You did hear what the plan was right, we have to literally get this kid to master all four elements plus the sub skills by the time he's seventeen. Now I know I can teach him but how fast he learns is up to him, not to mention were going to need money for him. I mean I know were technically back and all but he's the only one who can see us, I'm wondering if we can even interact with anything or anyone else at all.' Toph stated while taking a seat on the floor crossing her legs into a meditative position.

'Don't you worry about that, I'll make sure he's capable of getting some stuff on the way out of here remember were dividing his training time between me and you. Besides he's getting his gifts from me right now so we can get him outta here and he has a decent cover for later.' Zuko stated as he pulled out a second pair of Dao swords, a small dagger, a bow with a quiver stocked with arrows, and strangely enough a blue and white mask in the visage of a demon.

'If you guys are ready… its time.' Aang stated as he concentrated and took hold of his once faded but renewed energy. A white light began to envelope them and the last thing that could be heard from the group as they began to re-form in the world was just a little interesting.

'I hope Sokka isn't still flying right now…' Toph stated with a lopsided grin.

Naruto sat quite content to probably just fall asleep on top of the Hokage monument as he had many times before. A cool breeze swept passed him and he couldn't help but inhale a big gulp of the fall air passing through the area. Not soon after the breeze passed him he noticed something… a strange warmth accompanied by a small white light behind him chasing away what darkness was approaching as the sun set in front of him. Turning around wondering what to expect Naruto was not expecting four individual's dressed in four different ranges of clothing he had never seen before to be standing behind him atop the monument. At first Naruto started to panic but then began to take in the people in front of him.

The one man was in what appeared to be a light king of armor coated in red, gold, and black, with a pair of swords strapped to his back and what appeared to be a dagger hanging on his lower back. From what Naruto could tell his skin color was almost as light if not a little lighter than his own. The man had dark hair that seemed to hang down from a top knot done up at the back of his head down to his shoulders. The most distinguishing mark about the man though was that while one eye he could tell was a bright amber color the other half of his face was scarred as though he had been burned.

The second to his left was a woman with black hair done up in a bob that still seemed to hand slightly messy in her face. She had a very light skin tone and if Naruto's eyes deceived him he swore that her eyes were a light green but looked unfocused and reminded him of a man he had seen wandering the slum side of east end in the village, the man had been blind since birth leading him to believe that this woman was also blind. The woman's state of dress also confused him as it was that she was clad in what he could only describe as a set of armor. The armor was a jet black color consisting of small shoulder pauldrons, a pair of vambraces, a chest piece, and a set of greaves, but coincidently she wore no shoes which again confused the young blond.

The third person was again a woman and she was wearing the strangest get up out of all of them as it seemed to be made of fur. It was a mix of the colors light blue, dark blue, and white, and seemed to have a hood. The best it could be described to him was a short sleeved vest, which had a dark brown belt wrapped around the waist. She was wearing a long dark blue skirt and it looked as though she had long dark blue pants on underneath the skirt. She also had on a pair of dark brown boots and had medical tape wrapped around her forearms all the way up to a little bit below the elbow. The woman had a lighter brown skin tone and had long dark hair that seemed to hang past her shoulders with two little loopies framing the front of her face winding around to the back of her hair. She had a very lean looking face and upon seeing her eyes realized that their eyes were almost the same color, and when she noticed him looking at her she gave him a kind smile that reminded him of when he was young and his mother would look at him.

The fourth man was the plainest looking of them all. He was a relatively tall man and was shaved bald with a small goatee on his chin, dark brown eyes, and seemed to have tattoos on his head and hands that were blue and resembled arrows that seemed to disappear under his clothing. The man wore what looked like red, orange and yellow robes, with brown shoes and he carried a strange brown staff that was bigger on each opposite end. Upon finishing his inspection of the four people the bald man began to approach him, and it was at that point that Naruto began to feel a little bit of fear and started to back up to the edge of the monument. Aang immediately knowing what was going on stopped and put up both hands in a placating gesture.

"Please, we mean you no harm Naruto. We just want to talk to you." Aang said in what he had deemed his fatherly voice for when he and Katara had had their children.

"How do you know my name? Who are you people?" Naruto question as he ceased his retreat to regard the stranger with curiosity.

"I know that this will seem strange, but we're here to help you. I know that you don't know us but I'm hoping you will hear us out.' Aang said as he took a lotus sitting position on the ground and gestured for Naruto to come closer and join him.

Naruto still being a child and being as smart as he was did still have a natural curiosity and decided that it couldn't hurt to listen to the man. He slowly stepped away from the edge and came closer as four sets of eyes followed his as he took a seat to Aang's right about three feet from him.

"So…" The boy gestured with his hand waving it at the four individuals reminding Aang that he had asked a question earlier.

Aang having been trying to decide how to go about starting this conversation realized the boy had addressed him, and began to sheepishly rub the back of his head with a small grin on his face reminiscent of his youth.

"Well this is going to be a long story and it's going to be really hard to believe but I'm hoping you will keep an open mind and let me…" Aang started to say but then was quickly interrupted by his future self.

"Look… I don't know who you are or what that light was, but since that's how you got here let's just figure I'm going to believe what you have to say because as far as I knew my _father_ is the only one with that ability. Truth be told I also don't really have a lot of time to just sit here it is getting late so can we move this along?" the boy questioned all the while having a very no-nonsense tone of voice and a blank expression on his face.

With that being said the four newcomers all had their own thought's…

'Well… he's certainly…direct'

'I think I'm gonna like this kid'

'Poor thing… what did they do to make you this way'

'All things considered this isn't as bad as I thought he'd be, he could have been like Azula at that age'

After a few moments of silence Aang then straightened himself out by a fraction and put on his business face. He began at the beginning and gave the short version of his life and what it meant to be the Avatar. He introduced his friends and they in turn gave their own introductions, which he seemed to be taking it all in stride his face not once even shifting. After that was through Aang explained what they were told and how they there, and by the end the boy still hadn't moved.

"MmKay, so let me get this straight. You guys are from another world kinda like this one but also not, baldy here is basically a super hero, and you guys plus a bunch of others I haven't even met yet are here to help me leave the village; an all in case and purpose loser with no talent whatsoever, learn to do what you guys do and save the world? Does that pretty much sum it up?" The boy asked with a monotone voice.

"Well when you say it like that…" Aang said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah that'll happen… right about when I wake up in a world where my _parents_ and _sibling_ actually remember I exist and I can use chakra…. This is gonna happen never. Night crazies!" the boy stated with obvious sarcasm and feigned happiness at the end.

"Oh for the love of Pete we Ain't got time for this!" Toph shouted and then proceeded to bend the earth the boy was standing on and send him careening into the air screaming like a loon.

"Toph what did you do, he's never gonna trust us now!" Katara started to berate the earth bender as the slab of rock began to descend back to the mountain side.

A few feet from the ground Aang use his air-bending to jump up and catch the boy and then landed light as a feather on the mountain again and set the boy down, all the while Naruto's eyes were bugged out of his head and his hoodie was now half hanging off of him from the sudden drop back down to earth. The group continued to stare at him waiting for signs of life while Katara continued to list off reasons why Toph hadn't changed a bit since they were young, until finally the comatose boy came back to life.

Naruto's expressionless face suddenly turned to one of joy and yet he had tears running down his face. Katara whirled on Toph and was about to scold her blind earth-bending friend some more when the boy lunged and latched onto said earth-bender, in a surprisingly back creaking hug. Toph eyes actually got a little bigger and she awkwardly began to pat the blondes head saying that it was okay, when Katara finally came over and helped disconnect the boy from her only to have him then latch onto her in a hug still quietly sobbing. When he finally calmed down he pulled his face from Katara's shoulder wiped his face with his sleeve, and put on the biggest grin he ever had in his short life. He proceeded to look at each of them and uttered a single sentence.

"When are we getting outta here?" The boy asked as he flashed a grin at them.

Aang then got down to eye level with Naruto and finished his explanation. He explained that he was going to use Energy-bending on him to open his ability to bend, but that after he did so he would only see himself or the other Avatars or the other spirits while in the spirit world.

He began to explain that Naruto being the first Avatar of this world could physically pass in and out of the spirit world and that when Korra was given the deal to help him and let him become the world's first Avatar, while the spirits of their friends could also help only two spirits could remain out at a time and that didn't include his fellow Avatar's. The bonus to this is that even though he would only have two teachers at a time he was the only one who could interact with them. Naruto was immediately saddened about this seeing as the few people who had come to help him had to split up, but it was at this point that Aang gave him his first lesson about being the Avatar.

"Naruto, I know things are hard right now and that life hasn't really been fair to you. But you need to understand that since you're the Avatar your never really alone, all of us are connected to you. The Avatar is the bridge between the physical world and the spirit world, and as I was once told I'm going to tell you now that everything is connected. The things that most people think separate us really aren't there, much like the separation of the four elements for you. Just because we as a people may be from different places or believe different things doesn't mean that we aren't connected, because in the end the people of the earth are one people always united whether they believe it or not." Aang said while placing his hands on Naruto's shoulders so that he could look the boy straight in the eye.

Looking at what he now understood as one of his predecessors Naruto could only just barely wrap his head around the wisdom his monk friend was trying to pass onto him. But deep down something clicked that day and it would stick with the boy forever, it was his job to save people, to unite them, to bring about great change.

"I'll do my best sensei, I promise you. I'll be remembered as the person who saved this world and before my time as the Avatar is over we'll know that things have changed for the better." Naruto said as he looked his predecessor in the eye.

All four of his companions could only smile then, knowing in their hearts that things would get better for this boy, and that while it would be a labor it would be worth it. As they were finishing up a man that looked much like Katara joined them at the top of the Hokage Monument as the sun was finally ebbing away. The wan wore what would be considered a modernized suit version of his peoples clothing, same color scheme as Katara's. It was revealed to Naruto that this was Sokka Katara's older brother and that he had been granted form for a while and took that time to _borrow_ some supplies for the new son to be Avatar. He handed Naruto a ruck sack which had a few apples, a map of the nations, a pack of flint rocks, two spare changes of clothes, and underneath it all was a large wadded up amount of Ryo notes. (A/N: To make it simple as I'm sure I did for my other story 1 Ryo is the same as one USD to be simple and safe)

As soon as Sokka handed the pack to Naruto, Zuko stepped forward and offered him the gifts he had brought for him. Zuko explained that he and Toph were going to take the first while to train him and what they would both train him in. At the prospect of learning not just Earth-bending but Metal-bending when he was ready and all the arts Zuko promised, Naruto realized that in time he'd be his own brand of shinobi. The thought actually made him a bit giddy but then it reminded him of ho his parents looked at him, and it was then he made a solemn vow.

Taking the dagger Zuko had given him he quickly slit his thumb much to everyone else's shock and then clenched his hand a few times, and allowed his blood to gather in the palm of his hand.

"I swear by my blood that I'll walk my own path, I'll never quit, I'll never run away, and I'll never turn my back on the people who need me!" the boy declared with conviction. It was in that moment that the others knew…

' _He's gonna do it!'_

After the gifts and supplies had been given and Toph made cover for Naruto to change into his all black outfit (Zuko's old outfit when he wears the Blue Spirit mask), Naruto gave Aang, Katara, and even Sokka hugs and thanked them and promised not to let them down. Sokka and Katara began to fade back into the white light that had brought them and they promised that they would see Naruto again soon. As the light had almost fully enclosed around them both they heard Sokka mumble something…

"Please don't let me wind up falling two stories again okay universe…" Sokka said with a small bit of fear in his voice.

The last of the group gathered up and it was Toph and Zuko that first turned into orbs of light and crashed into Naruto. When he asked Aang what happened he heard the other two tell him that when it was time to train they would come back out, but that for the moment they would reside inside of him so that they could guide him mentally. Finally it had come to the moment that Naruto most dreaded; he still believed he would be alone again. Aang again took a knee and place d a hand on the blondes shoulder, and look him square in the face.

"Remember you don't have to be afraid, our first meditation will be in a few days when you get to settle down somewhere to train. After that someone will always be by your side to help you. I know that you're scared, but I want you to remember that no matter what happens there is always hope." Aang said as he brought the boy in for a brief hug.

Aang then stood back up and spread his feet shoulder width apart. He took his hands and placed one on Naruto's forehead, and the other at the center of his chest. Aang's eyes and tattoos began to glow as he briefly entered the Avatar state, and as quickly as he did this Naruto's head snapped up and his eyes took on the same otherworldly white light as his bending was unlocked. As the light began to fade away and Naruto could see again he could see Aang slowly disappearing turning into the same white light and the boy found himself overcome with emotion, as tears threatened to fall from his eyes again.

"Don't be gone for too long okay baldy…" the boy said wiping vestiges of tears from his face.

"I will always be with you Naruto, and I believe in you… we all do." Aang said with a smile on his face as the last of his essence transferred into the energy that made up the Avatar state.

The boy slowly gathered his thoughts as the light began to fade and then did a quick double check of all his supplies. He had all of his clothes, all of the Ryo notes, his dagger, his Blue Spirit mask, and everything else that had been given to him by his new friends. He had no idea what was in store for him now and wasn't sure how it would turn out, but if he was honest with anyone he was excited. He knew he was gonna change the world, and that today would be the start of his journey. Naruto quickly turned around and bolted as fast as he could down the stairs that had brought him to the top of the mountain, quickly descending all 700 steps it took to reach the top. Naruto quickly ran in a full out sprint down the main thoroughfare straight for the main gate that lead into the village. It took Naruto fifteen minutes to reach the main gate to find the gate guards asleep; observing this Naruto took no chances and tiptoed passed the napping guards. After passing through the gate Naruto quickly looked up and saw the full moon illuminating the road ahead away from the village, and then began to run again without so much as a glance back.

'So I know its dumb to ask now but its night time, and I figure I have to head to Tanigakure and that's miles from here so how am I gonna make it before anyone realizes I'm gone… if they do they'll send people after me to bring me back guys.' Naruto said to his current head guests.

'Let twinkle toes worry about that one Goldie locks, we'll be outta here in a jiff' Toph said to her new friend.

As if on cue Naruto felt a strange sensation and could fell a third consciousness pushing on his head and let it in. In that moment Naruto felt an indescribable amount of power flood through him. Aang unlocking his bending had made him feel different without a doubt… but THIS… he couldn't even speak.

'Relax Naruto; I won't let anything happen to you. Just let me take control for a while and when you wake up we'll be where we need too, I promise.' Aang said to his reincarnation.

Naruto allowed himself to look back once at the gate and walls of the village in which he was born…

'If I come back and that's a big if… things are gonna be different, believe it!' the boy said mostly to himself.

As the power of the Avatar state took hold over Naruto's body the energy in the air spiked to peak level's, and after it settled with a loud grunt of effort Aang took control of Naruto's body and began to earth skate away from the village ripping up the main road as he went. They started out at about a sprinting pace but slowly as the moments passed the tree's started to blur by one by one as they increased their speed, and then finally with one final grunt of effort our young Avatar and his spirit companions took off down the left fork in the road headed for parts anew for all.

 _Back in the Village Hidden in the Leaves…_

The party was now coming to a close and half of the guests had left, and young Mito was looking around curiously. The spitting image of her mother with just the added birthmark like whiskers on her face, turned her light purple colored eyes over every inch of the party goers that were left and found herself confused. Where had her big brother gone, where was he, he had been here just a moment ago right? She quickly turned and her bright yellow sundress fluttered as she spun to turn and quickly jogged up to her mother and father.

"Mommy, Daddy, where's Naruto? I wanted to show him my new bear Jiraiya gave me." She said with a big smile on her face.

It was at that moment that Minato and Kushina both seemed stumped and they began looking around for their son. He would usually be right here next to them albeit a little ways back, when had he left. They both began to subtly call out for their son only to get nothing, the boy didn't come running up not even an "I'm right here" as if he'd been hiding right under their noses for some time. It was at this point that Kushina began to panic a bit and turned to her friend Mikoto to ask her if she'd seen him.

"Mikoto have you…" Kushina started to say only to have a hand thrust up and cease her speaking.

The Raven Haired beauty had a look of disappointment on her face and was giving her friend a stern glare. Kushina had very rarely seen her best friend like this, and it was beginning to worry her.

"Before you ask you should know that you outta be ashamed of yourself Kushina, I'm surprised at you… how could you just completely overlook your son on his birthday. You of all people I never expected this from, you who always talk about family being first. Where was that person today, you were more than happy to fawn over Mito but what about your son? Hmm? Oh I know he left just like he did the past two years, and that's saying something considering he was only three and four those other times. Kushina I'm disappointed with you. I expect you to find him and make amends you and Minato's behavior is inexcusable." Mikoto said all the while at each point poking her best friend square in the chest.

Kushina immediately told Minato and he summoned the Anbu Black Ops. His last surviving student Kakashi summoned his ninja hounds to aid, and his group split off in two different directions. The Anbu began searching the village while Kakashi and his ninken began searching between the Hokage Monument and then wound up meeting up with the Hokage and his wife and heading back to the village's main gate. Upon arriving at the main gate he informed his teacher of the situation….

"Sensei… the trail ends here, there's something off about Naruto's scent here. It shouldn't just stop… I can't explain it." Kakashi said with a deep amount of regret in his voice, feeling that he had failed his father figure and Naruto someone who could have wound up being a little brother to him.

At this Minato put together a squad a prepared them for the next morning, where he would have them scatter to search the surrounding area for his missing son. He and Kushina didn't sleep that night and were both left wondering…where was their son? Where was Naruto?

 _250 miles west of The Village Hidden in the leaves…_

If one were to look down from the sky they would see a rolling dust cloud heading off west at an incredible speed, and if one were to actually peer into said dust cloud they would see a young blonde haired child riding the ground as if it were a surfboard, and if one were to really pay attention… they would see his shining white eyes and his bright smile as he earth skated off into the wide world.

 _ **End Chapter One.**_


	2. Shaking Things up and Down!

A New Avatar for a Whole New World

Hey all its Sojiro! Guys I just want to throw out there thanks for the Favs and Follows on my first Chapter for this story. That being said please keep me in your prayers and please pass on the word about the story if you liked it enough, and please do leave comments if you have questions, suggestions, or anything of the rather. Thanks a bunch again guys. Well as I said before lets dive in the water's feeling fine. Oh and to get it outta the way now I don't own Naruto or Avatar or any other reference made here in any way shape or form,(until I introduce my own OC's that is.) I will not be doing this again because if I owned either of these things I'd be rich and would have much more time on my hands for other things.

"People Speaking"

'People's Thought's'

" **Jutsu, Tailed Beast, Summoning Speech"**

' **Tailed Beast, Summoning Thought's'**

 **Earth…**

 **Water…**

 **Fire…**

 **Air…**

 **Long Ago… in another world the Avatar, the bridge between the spirit and physical world kept balance. Now that job has passed to a new boy and a whole new world…that boys name…is Naruto… We can only hope that he will bring the so needed balance to his world. But it's okay because the Spirits believe… And so do I!**

 **Book One: Earth**

Chapter 2

Shakin things up… and down!?

 _15 miles east of Tanzaku Town, 370 miles from the Village hidden in the leaves._

Finally feeling the effects of the Avatar state fade and coming to a stop we find our young hero Naruto not too far from the legendary Tanzaku Town, a place known for its night life and scenery. Upon finding himself outside a small cave our young and newly minted Avatar decided to rest up for the night and waltzed right on in.

Once arriving a few feet into the cave Naruto found himself overtaken by a slight feeling of nausea, and he quickly came to understand why as his two spirit friends made their re-appearance. After taking a few moments to catch his breath Naruto looked up and couldn't help but smile at his traveling spirit guides, who would become his future teachers.

After taking stock of where they had arrived and looking at the soft white glow illuminating the entrance to the cave entrance due to the moonlight Toph and Zuko shared a small nod approving of where they had wound up, after Aang had taken control of Naruto's body to get them out of the immediate vicinity of The Hidden Leaf.

Zuko scooted to the left side of the cave and sat himself up against the wall, while Toph stomped a foot down on the ground and made a subtle pushing motion with both hands palms facing down to create two separate rock slabs that looked like beds to Naruto. Immediately after gawking at the quick display of earth-bending the young blonde displayed the exact behavior a certain air nomad once displayed at the prospect of learning to Earth-bend, and began bombarding his teacher with question.

"Toph, how does earth-bending really work? Is it hard? What are you gonna teach me first? Will I be able to lift giant boulders? Will I…" Naruto began yammering off like there was no tomorrow, until a certain earth-bender delivered a quick but light whap upside his head.

"Slow…Down Goldilocks, how'z about we work on "Move a Rock" first thing in the morning okay? Your startin to remind me of twinkle toes when we started his training." Toph stated as she started to clench her right hand to adjust her own rock bed with the smallest of smirks playing at her lips.

"I wasn't with you guys for that part, it must have been something…" Zuko commented as he was starting to remove his weapons from his back.

Immediately; Zuko's comment caught Naruto's attention and, like any kid he figured the best way to get a story was pull out the charm on his companion. Turning on the only jutsu he knew any kid could pull off, chakra or not, he whipped out the **"Puppy Dog Eye's Jutsu"** and turned his most pleading face onto his scarred teacher. Catching a look at the boy's face two things happened, Zuko looked like someone had kicked him in the gut and Toph hearing Zuko's groan of discomfort began to chuckle knowing exactly what was going on.

"He's got the look doesn't he? Man you are such a sucker… Mai used to pull that when she wanted something from you." The blind Earth-bending master stated as she dropped her pauldrons, and chest plate revealing a tight form-fitting black mesh shirt as she proceeded to jump and land with a thump on her earth bed.

Zuko… The once Fire Lord of the Bending countries could only stare in slight horror as the young Avatar began to slowly advance on him with his hands clasped before him in a pleading gesture.

Hearing a little snicker in the back of his mind Naruto knew exactly what to do… "Oh please Sifu Hot-men would you tell me a story before bed?" Naruto said as he listened to Aang's distant laughter in the back of his mind.

At that Zuko could only roll his eyes, realizing who had put his new charge up to pulling those kinds of shenanigans this late in the evening.

"You can tell Aang that I said his phrases are still so old my Great Grandfather wants them back, and no it's too late for a story right now Naruto… you need to sleep we have a very busy day ahead of us tomorrow. If you're thinking it's gonna be all about Earth-bending this and slamming stuff that you've got another thing coming… I'm gonna be making sure you can survive in the wild all on your own before your even _allowed_ to go to the nearest town. " Zuko said as he began to sit back down to make himself comfortable against the cavern wall.

At that statement Naruto's face fell for a minute really hoping to prod into what it was like back in the world his compatriot's had come from, but he relaxed himself with the thought that there would always be time for that later.

Leaning back and spreading his arms wide to let out a back creaking yawn our young hero then walked over to his earth bed and climbed up to get some rest from what was left of the night, realizing that his scarred mentor was correct.

As the boy began to drift down into a land of slumber he quickly re-awoke and had a harder time going to the land of dreams after his previously aforementioned mentor opened his mouth again…

"And let me tell you something if you think I'm a grueling taskmaster by the end of tomorrow just remember, Toph is almost like a guy and she almost hits as hard as one to prove it." Zuko said as he closed his eyes to drift off himself.

The Next thing Naruto knew is that he heard a loud thwap as a palm struck rock, which was then followed by a loud smack and a loud string of obscenities that only grew more distant as a small amount of time went on.

"Let me make something clear goldilocks… I normally don't let petty shit like that bug me, but if I ever catch _you_ saying something about _My ability_ to hit hard I'm going to make that demonstration look like a love tap… M'kay? Toph said as she rolled back over to emphasize her point to her pupil.

Naruto could only nod his head dumbly at his earth-bending teacher's statement, before he rolled over onto his side and began to drift back off into a land of slumber.

As soon as Toph was sure that the boy was out, she lifted her hand up in a come here motion and Zuko walked back into the illuminated section of the cave. Zuko took up his position against the wall of the cave again while Toph lay facing the ceiling sprawled out on her rock bed, both remaining silent until Zuko finished collecting his thoughts.

"Okay… first things first sorry about that crack on your hitting, and second we've got to decide how were gonna divide the kids training time from now on." The scarred Fire Lord said as he rested himself on his side with his back to the wall.

"Ehhh don't worry about the jab, and I'm kinda lookin at takin the second half of the day till it's time to go to bed, since I kinda figured you gotta really beat some basic stuff into the kids dome." Toph said as she reached a long tone leg upward in a bent position so she could begin picking in-between her toes.

"… Do you have to do that in front of people all the time?" Zuko questioned as he could only sweat drop at his friends antics that she had been doing since long before he even met her.

"Hey not my fault you gotta lay there starin at me while I'm layin here, what you want a me to tuck you in… cuz that's not gonna happen sparky." Toph said as she clapped her hands together to remove any undesirable gook from her previous task off of her hands.

Shaking his head and holding his tongue from responding to the very loaded statement Toph had made, Zuko then sat himself back up and began to go over what he was going to teach Naruto which then lead Toph to reciprocating.

The sun was barely poking over the horizon, when Naruto was shaken from slumber by a sudden small amount of weight on his stomach. Naruto blearily wiped the sleep from his eyes and leaned up on his elbows to find himself staring at a strange looking animal. The animal had a white coat of sleek fur with a black marking framing its face like a mask, and a large patch covering its stomach. The animal had a pair of bright piercing green eyes, and from the look of its arms Naruto could only guess that the strange mammal had a pair of what he believed were wings connected to its arms. The strange little thing brought it's lithe tail around to the front and it proceeded to rub through it as if looking for bugs, and then turned it's big eyes upon Naruto.

The creature made a strange kind of half purr/grunt that to Naruto combined with the lop-sided look the thing was giving him, made it seem as though it were saying "just who in the heck are you?" Naruto was about to address said animal, when the ground threw him about a foot in the air only for him to come landing back down painfully on his butt. The boy quickly stood up and took the most basic taijutsu stance he could remember his sister taking one of the few times he had watched her train with their parents, only to be snatched up by his collar and dragged out into the rising light of the sun. Quickly blinking away the vestiges of sleep, he realized he was being held up by Zuko as he was being taken out of the cave. After being unceremoniously dropped on his butt Naruto leapt to his feet and began following his survivalist mentor into the deeper woods by their hovel, spewing every obscenity that a five year old could come up with.

As they trudged on into a nearby clearing with a small stream running through it Zuko took a seated lotus position on the ground and gestured for Naruto to join him. Reluctantly Naruto took a seat opposite Zuko, and waited for his mentor to tell him what they would be doing. After for what seemed like forever to our young hero his mentor finally opened his eyes from there closed position, and seemed to be measuring his worth before explaining his plan to him.

"Okay first things first, I'm going to be putting you threw basic exercises to get a feel for what your capable of physically first, and then for the next couple of hours I'm going to show you how to make basic snares, and other types of traps that can help you out in the wild and in close quarters combat. This will be necessary for you because sometimes you may have to go places that you can't always rely on your bending once you have it, or because you may want to keep it concealed so that your opponents don't know what you're fully capable of until it's too late." His mentor explained as he looked at his pupil gesturing to the woods around them to show the vastness of the area they would be working in.

As Naruto sat taking in what his mentor was saying, Zuko went further on in his explanation to tell him that after that they would go into what plants he could eat like berries, mushrooms, and even flowers in case he couldn't afford to hunt at that particular time. Zuko did not want a repeat of what happened with his uncle that time he decided to eat the flower that "might have been poisonous". Zuko then went onto explaining something Naruto had not expected him to go into…

"How's your hand doing? The scarred Fire Lord asked his pupil as they sat in the clearing taking in the glow of the rising sun.

"It's doing okay, it stopped hurting almost immediately after I cut my finger, why sensei?" the boy asked as they sat in the clearing and Naruto noticed the strange creature sitting in a tree watching them only a short distance away.

Zuko took stock of what Naruto was looking at and decided to elaborate for the boy. "That's a flying lemur from our world. While you were asleep Aang slipped away from you for a moment and we all had a talk and thought Momo would be a good companion for you from now on. Momo was Aang's pet flying lemur in our world during his time as the Avatar, and he was a great friend to all of us and he has a lot of uses that I'll explain later. I think you guys will be fast friends as soon as he warms up to you." Zuko said as he began to stretch out his arms though Naruto still didn't understand why, each of the spirits he'd met in their short time in front of him displayed tendencies as though they were still alive and he found it kinda funny.

"I know you're wondering why I got you up so early and it's for one purpose; I'm going to teach you a very basic but important form of Fire-bending. Now before you get all hoppy about it let me make this clear it's for survival purposes, and almost nothing else, you're not to try and use it in battle until _I_ deem you worthy to move onto its more advanced stage or your Fire-bending teacher does." Zuko said as he removed his shirt and gestured for Naruto to do the same as they sat bathing in the early morning light.

Naruto was quickly going to question what Zuko meant when he said his Fire-bending teacher, but labeled himself outside of that title specifically. Before the new Avatar could address this however Zuko raised his right hand and stalled his question.

"Listen… I know you might have been hoping I would be the one to teach you Fire-bending but the fact is there are better teachers than me, and truthfully I'd rather focus on helping you with your survival. However that being said my Uncle "The Dragon of the West" as the people knew him back in my world, taught me this technique in order to survive harsh cold environments or to be able to make a small controlled amount of fire for survival purposes." Zuko said as Naruto noticed he began to steady his breathing and closed his eyes and seemed to be going into a meditative state.

"Now pay attention because this technique is still dangerous to the user much like all Fire-bending. I want you to close your eyes... relax your body, and begin by taking long controlled breathes through your nose and out through your mouth. Remember the key to this is control so when you release the breathe do it slowly and in a very controlled fashion." Zuko stated as his pupil relaxed himself and began to follow his instructions.

After a few moments of them both doing this Zuko began to council the young Avatar again. "Now that you're relaxed I want you to focus on your chi, feel the pool of energy in your body and slowly touch it with your mind. Reach and take a relaxed hold of it. After you have a solid feel for it I want you to tighten your hold, not too loose not too tight, and then were going to move the energy into our stomachs." Zuko said as they both sat building up a slight sweat as the sun began to beat on them more as it slowly rose into the morning sky.

"Now comes the most important and dangerous part of this exercise. I want you to take the energy you've stored in your stomach, and focus on it. I want you to imagine it getting hot, and then hotter as time goes on. Once you have it to a point where in your mind's eye it's a miniature fire, in a controlled exhale I want you to let out the breathe and at the same instant bring up the energy and converge it with the breathe from your lungs. It's very crucial that you do this at the exact same time as not to burn yourself, I hope you understand the consequences of what can happen if…" Zuko was saying as he got the shock of his life when all of a sudden he heard a very distinct Fwush sound.

Zuko's eyes shot open and to his pupil in front of him, and seeing small sparks floating around his pupil he waited with baited breathe. He didn't have to wait long though because about three seconds later Naruto surprised him, by bringing up a bright and slightly large orange and red burst of fire when he exhaled. Zuko sat watching his pupil with wide and unbelieving eyes, as his student continued the exercise every so often releasing controlled breathes of fire.

'I can hardly believe it… only moments after explaining it and he picks it up, man this kid is definitely the Avatar and if this is just the beginning things are gonna be real interesting once he masters Earth-bending.' Zuko thought as he continued to watch his student with now what could only be described as pride.

After a few more moments of meditating and practicing his breathe of fire, Naruto opened his eyes and allowed his chi to go back to its normal flow throughout and around him. His throat feeling just slightly hoarse stood up and walked to the clear stream, and drank a few gulps of water before sitting back down in front of his teacher. Upon sitting down next to Zuko again he noticed his teachers grin, and felt it infectious and started to grin himself as he spoke to him.

"What's up sensei, did I do okay? Naruto asked with a shit eating grin even though he knew the answer to his question.

"You did great; I really can't believe it actually. You did it in about forty five minutes; where it took me about four hours the first time to generate my own breathe of fire. I'm very proud of you Naruto, and I have no doubt that when you do begin Fire-bending forms you'll do great. That being said remember that you are not to try and use that in battle unless expressly necessary… okay?" Zuko questioned his pupil as he looked at him side-long as they sat in meditative poses once more.

Naruto nodded his head in the positive to his teachers words already knowing that one wrong move with any of his bending, and it could be bad for _him_ at best or _someone innocent_ at worst if he ever lost control.

Naruto had spoken to Aang for a bit while he slept and Aang had gone over more of just what it meant to be the Avatar with the boy, and what the process would be like for him to transition into. Naruto believed he was coming to understand what it would be like and while it felt impossible, he knew in his heart that he could do it.

After doing some stretches with his sensei for a bit after standing up from his first practice of the day, Zuko's countenance completely shifted. The man was not lying when he said he'd be a task master, in fact Naruto by the end of the _exercises_ was beginning to believe Zuko enjoyed this whole thing as a form of torture. Zuko had the boy do all of his exercises back to back in sets of three starting with 35 push-ups/75 crunches, 15 pull ups/15 chin ups, and finishing it off with 75 hot squats/and 120 seconds of leg lifts. After the boy was finished with that and he had just barely finished all of it without passing out, Zuko informed him that he had to do 12 laps up and down the length of the clearing as fast as he could which by the end would amount to about one and a quarter miles. At that the boy's face fell and before he even had a chance to complain he felt a blast of heat wash over him, as his teacher had Fire-bent a light blast about a foot from him to get him moving as " _motivation"_. While all of this was going on; Momo contentedly sat on his perch a few feet away on the nearest branch to the ground eating some nuts, all the while having one thought in his head.

'Man he's going realllly hard on the kid… eh whatever he'll last I'll bring him a snack later he's gonna be fine... right?' The lemur thought as he laid back after finishing his last nut from what he'd gathered for himself.

After all was said and done about three hours later after his tort, eh exercises the boy could be found sitting with his survival sensei sitting back at their designated spot in the clearing going over what looked to be a pile of nuts, berry's, and herbs that the boy had gathered. Zuko was currently showing him what was okay to eat out of the gathered supplies and he was also having Naruto write down the ones that could be used for more than just eating… like using them as sleeping agents, paralysis serum's, and even poisons.

It was at this point that Toph came walking out of the woods with Momo on her shoulder wearing her full suit, carrying a sack full of apples and peaches. She sat down beside them and tossed a couple of apples, and peaches to Naruto. As Naruto ate his food Toph began discussing what Zuko had been training Naruto in, and what he planned to do from that point forward now that he understood Naruto's base ability.

Zuko gave Toph the basic outline of how he would work on Naruto's stealth and memorization of all the different compounds he would be teaching him and that after that he would be working with him on archery, and swordsmanship. After going through the set up for his blind Earth-bending friend the previous Fire Lord stood up and excused himself from the clearing to allow his young protégé to work with his first bending teacher.

As Toph stood up and began to stretch Momo took flight and landed deftly on Naruto's shoulder and nuzzled his head with a light purring, that in the way it came out to Naruto it sounded as though the flying lemur were saying "good luck" before flying back to its perch from the beginning of the morning. Not being one to fall behind Naruto jumped to his feet and began to do the same light stretches that his new mentor was, waiting for her to begin the first lesson.

"Okay Earth-bending student, lets lay down the ground rules to begin." Toph said with a light grin as she finished loosening up her arms and getting the feeling back for moving around in her armor.

"I want you to go into the bag I brought here and pull out the thin cloth I brought, go get it now." Toph said as she began to flex her hands and lightly kick her feet into the ground already displaying very subtle bits of Earth-bending.

Naruto quickly padded up to the bag and pulled out the two inch wide by twelve inch long black cloth, and walked back to his sensei. As he walked back up to Toph Naruto was quickly overtaken by his sensei as she swiped said cloth from his hands spun him around and wrapped it around his eyes.

"Alright now listen to me carefully, from now on every day for as long as your training with me you'll have to wear that headband as a blindfold. Your first real lesson in Earth-bending is going to be how to _listen_ to the earth and the world around you. It may not be as good as mine is but once you've mastered this, you'll have developed a sixth sense that I call the seismic sense. I use this sense to see and it will help you to learn to do so as well and it will prepare you for fighting without your eyes; whether it's in a dark building, underground, or because you actually do lose your sight. Utilizing this tool you will never be truly blind and it offers a major boon to your Earth-bending as it is you'll be able to feel everything in the earth up to a certain distance. Now that we've covered that while you're training with me what I say goes no exceptions, if I tell you to jump in front of a rolling boulder you better do it with a big smile on your face… DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!" Toph stated as she yelled out the last part with her Police Chief voice.

The boy quickly shot to attention like he had seen many of the academy students do when the instructor's used stern voices to get them to do something.

"The most basic principal of Earth-bending is that earth is the most stubborn element, and it requires a great amount of will, and guts to work with. You can't falter even in the slightest; you have to be as stubborn as the element itself. Once you become physically and mentally unmovable that's when the easy part will come, and then we'll begin going over all the different forms for Earth-bending." Toph stated as she slowly and deliberately began to walk closer to Naruto until she was half a foot from him, and started to walk in a tight circle around the boy slowly nudging the earth underneath his feet trying to make him start feeling out the vibrations himself.

As his teacher began to stir the Earth underneath his feet Naruto began to get slightly frustrated as he would quickly lose his balance, and found himself having to continuously shift his weight to match the slight churning of the earth beneath him. Toph made him do this exercise for the first hour they were together, and then she began the more advanced routine. She would create elevated pillars and make him jump up and down and on and off of them, while focusing his chi between his ears and the bottoms of his feet to feel out the earth. After that… what followed was Toph bending the earth under his feet and rising him six feet into the air; and using her own seismic sense she would tune her steps to his and make him walk while every two steps making him do a set of ten squats while holding a small rock in the shape of a disk that weighed twelve pounds two inches from his chest. Toph put him through said workout routine until around three in the afternoon, and then she had him call it quits saying that they would pick it up again tomorrow the same way they had today.

After said workout Naruto had a small meal made out of the berry's and plants Zuko had shown him were edible from the surrounding grove, and then went for a much needed nap.

As the boy went to lay down, both of his companions sat in front of the cave discussing what they had planned for the next couple of days.

"So while you were putting him through the paces, I went and got some dinner for him and cleaned it up so he's gonna have pheasant and I got him some firewood." Zuko stated as he sat with his back up against the front wall of the cave enjoying the sunlight.

"Kay, so I know other people can't see us but we can still bend and people will see that, and on top of it we can affect other stuff in a way… but for how long?" the master Earth and Metal-bender asked her Fire-bending companion.

"You heard Aang last night we won't be able to affect anything past tomorrow, though to Naruto it'll be like nothing's changed but to the outside world we'll just be ghosts again. You know as well as I do its better that way anyhow, eventually Naruto will bring the new benders around and when he's ready _our_ time with him will be over." Zuko said as he rest his head against the cave wall closing his eyes, enjoying the apparent beautiful day.

"Should we tell him? I mean it seems wrong keeping that from him, the kids had nobody his whole life and then were just gonna up and disappear one day; not exactly conducive with keeping his trust sparky." Toph stated as she set herself against the secondary outer wall of the cave.

Both of the spirits of old sat contemplating when or how to break the news to our young hero, with neither of them coming up with a viable way to do it without hurting the young new Avatar. Eventually time passed and it was now in the early evening time, when Naruto had finished his second set of Earth-bending training for the day. The boy sat and had another round of fruit, nuts, and berries with his pheasant and afterward announced that he was going to go down stream a bit to take a bath before the sun fully went down. After taking his bath and returning to the cave both of his masters told him that he would need to get a good night sleep because his training would intensify again tomorrow.

The next morning followed much the same as the previous where Naruto woke up and had a small breakfast, and then he met up with Zuko at the clearing to begin his daily regimen. When Naruto arrived Zuko had him sit and they began with their meditation for the fire breathe, and then after that was finished they began Naruto's set from the day before but increased it by half for all of the exercises. Afterward Naruto would follow up with Toph, with her teaching him more about the beginning of Earth-bending, and how to get a better grasp of the basics. Naruto's regimen would continue on this way for quite a while until he found it time to advance away from the safety of his hovel.

 _6 Months after leaving the village hidden in the leaves with Naruto._

Our young hero could be seen wearing a torn pair of dark brown pants, a black blindfold, and nothing else as he had to swivel between flying boulders and small flying daggers. Naruto's hair had grown a few inches all around and now would hang and cover his eyes and as he would gracefully slide between the flying debris from his blind sensei and the glinting metal throwing knives being thrown by his scarred sensei his hair would whip about and throw bits a sweat with each turn.

Each day had been more grueling than the last having to digest new information in the forms of edible and non-edible herbs, sword combat, knife combat, close quarters grappling, and then of course his bending from his snarky and devil may care Earth-bending teacher. Winter had come and gone through the land of fire and while he had the cave both of his teachers made sure to perform his training in the tundra that had come as well, to get the boy accustomed to fighting in a slightly different climate. The most difficult of the lessons Naruto had to pick up was learning how to hunt in the winter from Zuko, all the while also having to train to use his Fire-breath in the colder temperatures that had come; which in of itself would most times scare off what he was hunting. Whether it had been early in the morning before first light of day, or hours after the sun had set again Naruto was guided into the wilderness by his scarred teacher and was taught how to track by the animals tracks, smell, droppings, anything and everything he could use because Zuko deemed it necessary that he learn to fend for himself as he would not always be able to bring a copious amount of food with him and would not always be near a town with great food stores. Zuko had also taken to training the boy in the use of the Yu-Yan bow he had gifted him when the spirits had first come to him, and taken him from his home village. The bow itself was a varnished dark chestnut and the sting was made of the finest horse-hair from the Fire-nation. Zuko had gifted the boy ten sets of replacement strings as well but had also already covered how to improvise to make new string himself in case the strings ever broke, which after the first three months he had broken six of his spares threw use and one or two accidents. If the training for hunting itself had been hard, learning how to use the bow was impossible. The string would snap back and smack him in the face, the arrows would barely fly a few feet from him and every time that happened he would go hungry… and then Zuko would sweep his legs out from under him and scold him for not breathing as though he were doing the Fire-breathe. Zuko explained that his teacher had been Ming-Dao a shrewd man who was not allowed to speak due to a vow he had taken when becoming the leader of the Yu-Yan archers back in his world.

He had gone to the man a year after becoming Fire-lord and asked him to train him, and Zuko was willing to admit that he believed the man was a sadist for the training had been some of the hardest he had ever endured. In the end it had taken Naruto three weeks but after hearing it so many times he understood, he need not use the breathe of fire in the moment of losing the arrow but that he should breathe slowly and in a controlled manner as he would for the fire breathe. After two months of that Naruto had effectively learned how to hunt/track, use his bow, and was already well on to mastering the basics of Earth-bending.

Toph had taken to slamming a bed of earth into Naruto in the morning, to not only get him accustomed to taking blows from dense earth and raise his pain tolerance but also to make him learn to use his seismic sense on instinct even from sleep. The boy was only allowed to walk around with his blind-fold off when training in learning about plants and herbs with Zuko, and after the first few days Toph began making him keep it on at all times even so that he could start with smelling said herbs and plants to get used to utilizing his sense of smell.

" _Look point is for all this you're not always gonna be able to rely on your sight whether its fighting an enemy in the dark… or say something does happen to your sight, so the main objective of this training is to get your sense of smell, touch, and hearing to a level unseen by most even around these parts and I don't wanna hear another thing about it."_ The blind Earth-bending teacher had said to him as he lay on the ground having been tossed ass over eyeballs by said teacher for attempting to retort to her explanation. After the first week Toph had moved into teaching Naruto the basic forms she had learned from the Badger-moles, and consistently threw him for a loop (literally) if he did not perform the set forms right. The training was grueling and pushed Naruto to his limit, causing him to actually take on the strange and quite dangerous habit of Earth-bending in his sleep. Many a times Toph had to protect her student from slight mishaps he would cause himself while he was sleeping, but more often than not got a great laugh out of watching debris fall on Zuko.

That had happened during week four of the training and the whole ordeal was starting to pay off even though true to everyone's thoughts it had been a labor, and there was no doubt about it the results had begun appearing slowly on the spirits young ward. Now six months in and we find Naruto training with his guides once again enduring another physical workout, as he dodges between their respective barrages.

Quickly falling into a light horse stance Naruto caught a boulder the size of two grown men and shattered it in the same instance, and then spun off the ball of his left foot and kicked into the air only to come down in a short dive and go straight into the earth itself. He quickly re-emerged right to the left of Zuko and tossed a boulder the size of a bowling ball at his survivalist teacher knocking him off balance throwing him into the tree's and then quickly pivoted off of his right foot and got into a low sliding stance with his left foot facing forward and launched a pillar of earth at Toph; which she quickly broke down the middle with a single chop.

Naruto allowed no time for respite however and while Toph was in the middle of chopping through said pillar Naruto had broken out into a full sprint right behind it and jumped to try and slam into his sensei with both knees fully curled outward toward her chest… which failed epically as he was given a brief but firm slam to the head after said teacher slapped just above his outstretched knee's with her left and proceeded to give him a straight lariat with her right which sent him ass over eyeballs again for about the ten-trillionth time since starting training.

"Uhhh… Senseii… why did you… (Whack)…OWWW…WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" The boy shouted as he tried to sit up after the quick sequence barrage only to feel the hard wrap of his sensei's gauntleted hand off of the back of his dome-piece.

"The Next time you go and try and pull a stunt like that remember to never put yourself into a position where you can't recover tut sweet, and until your learn to Air-bend or Fire-bend you sure as hell can't make a mid-air recovery so that's why I smacked you… though I do applaud your initiative even though it was just a tad straightforward. ZUKO… get off your butt he didn't even hit you that hard." The blind Earth-bender shouted as she finished a base set with her pupil hearing a loud groan come from the right side of the clearing as Zuko recovered from said blow.

The Scarred spirit rose to his feet and bent backwards slightly to relieve a kink that had formed from being smashed into the tree he had hit, and after stretching for a bit called Naruto over to him next to the river.

"Naruto… I'm sorry but it's time for me to leave you for a while." Zuko said as he rested a hand on the boys shoulder delivering his news of his own departure with a heavy heart.

"Wha… But… why…I mean why now? Did I do something wrong sensei?" the young blonde asked with light tears gathering at the corners of his eyes as he processed the news.

"No it's nothing you did so never think that, trust me it's for your own benefit right now and I'm never really that far away anyhow." Zuko said as he pulled the boy into a hug regretting that he had to leave the boy he saw as a surrogate little brother at such an important stage in his life.

Leaning back from the hug Zuko looked the boy in the eyes and explained that he believed he had all the necessary skills for basic to advanced survival now, and that if he lingered any longer it would just make it harder for both of them later. He explained how he wanted him to spend his early morning's continuing to rise with the sun and continue to practice all the skills he had shown him from hunting, to the breathe of fire, and all of his stealth/infiltration and poison/antidote work he had covered with him while training his other skills. He explained that while he had covered sword work and dagger fighting, the close quarter's combat he had covered with the youth would not be enough after a while but that his newest sensei would finish his hand to hand combat training.

With a small gasp of breathe Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat put on a big smile, and bid farewell to the man he had come to see as a surrogate older brother as the white light began to consume his shape and alter to reveal his newest sensei.

"Goodbye… Big Bro." The boy said as the last vestiges of light faded away from the spirit's form before him to reveal a young woman with Dark brown eyes and Chestnut brown hair that was tide in a tight braid falling to the middle of her young woman was clad in a set of armor reminiscent of a samurai colored in dark greens and black with golden outlines all across it.

The young woman had a very kind face with a bright smile adorned showing off her light pink lipstick. The young woman had two spread wide mini fans in both of her hands and clasped them shut before attaching them to either side of her waist, and took a bounding step forward toward her new ward.

"HI I'm Ty Lee it's so nice to meet you, were gonna be great friends I just know it! I know you'll miss Zuko and I know he'll miss you but I hope you can come to look at me like your "Big Sis" and trust me we are definitely gonna make you a terror to fight up close but were also gonna have to work on your agility and flexibility… you may not be a girl but I'm gonna make other guys wish they could move like you by the time I'm done!" the energetic acrobat stated quickly which left the boy reeling as she seemed to say it all on one breathe.

'Man… this girl has a lot of energy, _I_ might even have trouble keeping up.' The boy thought as he put on his best smile as not to insult his newest instructor.

"Well it's great to meet you sensei…" the boy started to say as said energetic girl cartwheeled up to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"None of that sensei stuff with me cutie okay… I want and need you to be as relaxed as possible for your training with me because we are gonna work on your acrobatics, flexibility, agility, and your hand to hand combat. I'm gonna teach you Chi Blocking which essentially causes your opponent's body to go numb, and become useless after you hit the proper pressure points. All the while I'm also gonna help you add the skills I'm working on with you to your already existing skills, which I've got to say after what Zuko told me I'm pretty impressed… but you've still got a lot of refining to do." The young woman said as she stretched out a bit before flipping forward landing into a handstand and started to walk away from the young Avatar, all the while missing the small blush the boy was sporting from being called cute.

As quickly as the good feelings had begun to flood the boy though Ty Lee quickly pushed off the ground performing a full flip a landed on her feet, and then spun and sprinted in his direction only to skid to a halt in front of him and jab him a few quick times. Sure enough Naruto immediately felt the effects, and only had a moment to realize what was going to happen before he toppled unceremoniously to the ground with the right side of his body paralyzed. It was at this moment that Ty Lee drew both of her fans with a flourish and quickly squatted down and held one to the boy's neck, never once losing the smile she had on her face even as she observed the look of shock and fear on her students face.

"The first principal of Chi Blocking is to invade your opponent's space, and set them off balance. Remember your main goal after setting them off balance is to strike quickly and effectively, aiming for the spots that will best disable them and leave them open for a finishing blow." The bubbly girl said as she sat next to the prone form of the young Avatar as she started to run her nimble fingers threw his hair.

"Sorry that I did that but the best way to get good at this style of fighting is to fall victim to it the first few times, that helps drive home the point of the style and also helps you start to learn the points you'll be aiming for your-self when using it. I plan to make a diagram of the human body for you and the best points to go for when striking considering your size right now and how to integrate this style with your grappling and other fighting styles you've learned so far." Ty Lee explained as she quickly hit the same spots on the boy to re-apply his use of his body for him.

She then began going over some back-round of the style while they sat and had a small lunch, and then after eating were joined by Toph and Momo… to which elicited a very funny chase on Ty Lee's part as she squealed like a five year old and ran at Momo with her arms spread wide squealing like a loon.

The last thought Naruto had right before toppling to the ground in a fit of laughter beside his Earth-bending teacher was a very obvious one…

'Poor Momo…'

 _2 months since Ty Lee's arrival to the group_

The sun could be seen clearly over the trees in the little clearing that Naruto and his teachers had picked out months ago as the morning was gliding on as it had ever since leaving the village, and his birth family behind. Since her arrival Ty Lee had become the "Big Sis" that she hoped he would see her as almost immediately… not very surprising considering they both had about the same temperament. Both master and student loved to laugh and smile as much as possible, and Toph often joined in with their jokes and spirited fun… after training of course. Ty Lee insisted that Naruto first work on his flexibility and agility so between spars with Toph working on Earth-bending and Chi blocking, Ty Lee had Naruto doing basic yoga and gymnastics.

At this point it could be observed that the boys schedule was borderline obscene with the amount of training he was doing, and even with all that the young Avatar was doing he still believed he could push himself farther opting to now get up two hours before sun rise for hunting/tracking and to get a run in. At one point Ty Lee made an off handed comment that if he wasn't careful he would become as she put it _"a little beastly for someone his age"_. At which point the poor boy for some odd reason felt a small shiver run up his spine…

Back in the village hidden in the leaves two spandex clad warriors sneezed in unison and then started spouting off about _"THE POWER OF YOUTH",_ before being pelted with can's from a local vendor.

Naruto it would seem had improved by leaps and bounds and could now seamlessly work the basics of Chi blocking into his grappling, sword/knife combat, and even his Earth-bending, as he demonstrated with his first win over his Earth-bending teacher since the beginning of his training months before. Toph had also been pushing the boy harder... causing him to get his seismic sense to reach about ninety-five meters out from himself and he had already started on the advanced sets for Earth-bending. Naruto under Toph's instruction had even started to layer his hands with bits of rock to form gloves like the Dai Li agents of Ba Sing Se did, she told him he would do that until she could help him get it laid out to have the metal greaves and gauntlets of plate metal made for him… to which he had no arguments.

As our young Avatar was in the middle of doing a set of vertical push-ups to start his morning routine the ground gave off a powerful vibration that alerted Naruto and Toph, to what Toph now with all of her experience recognized as an explosion. Momo and Ty Lee quickly bolted in the direction of where Toph stated the vibration came from to scout out the situation as Naruto quickly re-donned his hooded Gi top and strapped his swords and dagger to his back and lower back respectively, hoping that the disturbance was nothing having to do with his former home.

Fortunately or unfortunately for our young hero depending on who you asked, the disturbance had nothing to do with ninja what so ever as it seemed a caravan of trader's had been set upon by a raiding party of bandits. Ty Lee had returned a moment ago and stated that five or so bandits had surrounded the two carriage caravan and were yelling out demands to the injured merchants.

"Well Goldie locks we were gonna give you a field test eventually and no time like the present I always say." Toph stated as she glanced towards the source of the vibration again. She looked at her ward and gave him a confident smile and told him that her and Ty Lee would stand by in case everything got out of hand, but that they would be leaving the bulk of the work to him.

Both Ty Lee and Toph gave the boy reassuring smiles and with that he turned back to his bag and fished out the last piece of his ensemble… his Blue Spirit mask.

"Well… Here goes nothing…"

 **End Chapter 2.**

 **Hey Guys as I said before big thanks for the support on my new story, that being said please do review and let me know any thoughts you have. Also here's my first pole for this story... Naruto is gonna get with up too 5 girls but that's it... that being said who do you think they should be. Azula is definitely taking a spot so that leaves 4 possible definite 3. Thanks again guys C-ya next time...**

 **Oh and just out of curiosity... M and M's, or Reicies Pieces?**


	3. The Legend of the Blue Spirit!

A New Avatar for a Whole New World

"People Speaking"

'People's Thought's'

" **Jutsu, Tailed Beast, Summoning Speech"**

' **Tailed Beast, Summoning Thought's'**

 **Earth…**

 **Water…**

 **Fire…**

 **Air…**

 **Long Ago… in another world the Avatar, the bridge between the spirit and physical world kept balance. Now that job has passed to a new boy and a whole new world…that boys name…is Naruto… We can only hope that he will bring the so needed balance to his world. But it's okay because the Spirits believe… And so do I!**

 _Last time…_

 _Fortunately or unfortunately for our young hero depending on who you asked, the disturbance had nothing to do with ninja what so ever as it seemed a caravan of trader's had been set upon by a raiding party of bandits. Ty Lee had returned a moment ago and stated that five or so bandits had surrounded the two carriage caravan and were yelling out demands to the injured merchants._

" _Well Goldie locks we were gonna give you a field test eventually and no time like the present I always say." Toph stated as she glanced towards the source of the vibration again. She looked at her ward and gave him a confident smile and told him that she and Ty Lee would stand by in case everything got out of hand, but that they would be leaving the bulk of the work to him._

 _Both Ty Lee and Toph gave the boy reassuring smiles and with that he turned back to his bag and fished out the last piece of his ensemble… his Blue Spirit mask._

" _Well… Here goes nothing…"_

 **Book One: Earth**

Chapter 3

The Legend of the Blue Spirit

Naruto could be seen donned in his Blue Spirit suit quickly running through the tall grass just outside of the quarter mile tree line that hid the road where the bandits were assaulting the trader's caravan. The sun had barely passed the horizon and it was still close to pitch black in the forest, as Naruto neared his destination he was unable to shake the small conversation he had with Toph before starting for the raiding party…

 _Flashback_

" _Listen to me Naruto…I know that this is gonna be hard to hear but if it comes down to it and you can't just knock these guys out, you may have to actually take em out." His blind Earth-bending teacher said, as she rested a hand on his shoulder having caught him before he could bolt towards the disturbance all the while with Ty Lee and Momo looking on._

 _After hearing the statement of his Earth-bending teacher Naruto recoiled as though he'd been gut-punched with a look of shock on his face… if you could see his face, though no one could tell as his face was obstructed by his Blue Spirit mask. Naruto took a moment and was having a hard time understanding… because it had sounded like Toph had ordered him to kill the bandits. He went to respond and Toph quickly continued with her line of thought…_

" _Listen I'm not sayin you have too, but if the Intel Zuko got is right these guys and pretty much any enemy you'll ever face in this world will kill you and anyone else they want. During times where you and I would train Zuko was scouting… Naruto I believed our worlds were similar but the truth is yours is much harsher. You need to go into this excepting that whether it's today, a year from now, or hell even many years from now you may be put into a position where you have to kill your enemies or it might just be the end of you, someone innocent, or people you care for._

" _I know it's not easy and that your way too young to really be thinking about this but look at it this way… say that you get put into that position and hesitate… your future could be over and the Avatar cycle might not start again for a while if at all, this world can't have that happen. All this being said you can use some and I mean some Earth-bending… but don't be obvious about it we don't want anybody spreading rumors about someone like you yet." Toph said as she explained the urgency of the situation._

 _She continued to go on to say that no matter what he chose she wouldn't judge his decision, and that when it was over they would speak more on the subject. After that Ty Lee gave him an encouraging pat on the back, and Momo flew into the trees after nuzzling Naruto's neck giving what Naruto believed was encouragement._

 _End Flashback_

Naruto finally reached the beginning of the tree line, and could already close his eyes and sense the vibrations coming from everyone at the fallen caravans. He could easily hear the shouting of demands and orders to and from separate bandits, the pleading of the men of the caravan, and he could also hear muffled sobs coming from some of the women and children of the caravan. He quickly assessed their numbers and could already tell that five to six were the main assault squad, and that two others were standing a few feet back in the brush next to the resting horses that the bandits seemed to be using as their transportation. Naruto quickly slid into a light horse stance before quickly dropping both hands palms facing down quickly turning the ground beneath him to a viscous form, and then dropped into the depths before quickly re-hardening said ground ready to enact a plan of action against the unsuspecting bandits.

Kenji Murumasa was a simple man, and was also quite superstitious considering the life he had lived. He stood at five feet seven inches tall and was wearing an all-black suit of worn looking samurai armor, with a simple katana strapped to his left hip with no helmet adorning his head. Kenji had a shaved head adorning many line like scars crossing his skull creating an almost zig-zag patter with the most prominent scar being the one that went directly across his forehead. The man had a very strong jaw line a slightly large nose and Cole black eyes. He had been a samurai under the great Mifune of the Land of Iron, but had trouble dealing with the loss of his comrades when fighting Hanzo the Salamander. After having been face to face with the monster who had ended so many of his friends, he like many abandoned Mifune leaving him to face Hanzo alone while he ran and tried to preserve his own life. Unlike the others though he did not feel shame in running and did not take his life in recompense for leaving his leader behind to die, and Kenji had lived a long and less than virtuous life and was an old man now in his early sixties. He was now the second in command of the troupe of bandits that had been put together by a man named Shinno, and was glad to issue the orders to those under him so that they could carry out his new masters will. Shinno had proven to be not only a generous leader but also quite ferocious and quite evil when pushed; he had used his medical ninjutsu to suck the life-force out of one of the bandits in front of everyone just to show that he was in charge. Kenji had seen many things in his time but this even made the way Salamander Hanzo killed people seem like a mercy, as the scream the man had let out before his final death rattle would haunt him forever.

Shinno had left the group some months ago and left Kenji specific orders to rob any caravans passing through this route, out of Tanzaku town headed to and from the Fire capitol and The Village Hidden in the Leaves. The outcropping they were now in was only about ten miles from the main thoroughfare that would lead either directly to the fire capitol or Tanzaku Castle. Kenji and one of the many wastes of space that Shinno had picked for bandits were sitting with the horses waiting for the group to return when it happened, and it was over in a flash for Kenji as he met the world of blessed unconsciousness. One of the horses bucked from a rumble beneath them and sent him flying into a nearby oak knocking him out… the last thing he got to see being his subordinate being grabbed from behind and put into a headlock by what looked like a Blue faced demon.

Naruto couldn't believe how well the first move had gone, already having subdued the second bandit with three chi- blocking strikes followed by a sleeper hold while watching the other man fall unconscious after having been thrown by one of the horses. Our young hero quickly set to work tying up both of the bandits after relieving them of their weapons, and then he quickly did a survey of the packs on each of the horses finding a vast assortment of things from gold and jewels, to wadded up Ryo notes and even a few ninja scrolls. Rigging a snare beneath his captives Naruto then quickly gathered the riches he'd found and consolidated it all into one bag and then used Earth-bending to place it beneath the ground until he returned. He quickly turned and bolted back into the tree-line and came a few feet from the edge leading to the area where the rest of the bandits were, and then signaled and a waiting Momo flew down and perched on his shoulder. Naruto then quickly began to make some subtle signs with his hands that Zuko had shown him during training, so that he and Momo could forge coordinated attacks using Momo as a distraction.

Naruto quickly finished the signs and with a light purr and what Naruto concluded was a smile from the flying lemur, they both set out to begin the main attack.

As the bandits began to approach the overturned wagons it happened…. And it happened so fast that many were left gaping at the sight before them.

The bandit to the far left of the carriage was the first to go down. What looked to be a set of hands flew from the brush grabbing the bandit around the head covering his mouth and then said bandit was then pulled back into said brush all the while letting out muffled screams before a resounding thud sounded out leaving nothing but silence afterwards. The men were gaping and as the apparent leader went to speak some kind of monkey landed on his head pushing his baggy white hat over his eyes; before the man had time to yell obscenities said monkey proceeded to crawl across his body clinging to the bandits clothes squealing and scratching all the while, before jumping off as another bandit rushed and wound up tackling his superior and himself to the ground in a jumble of arms and legs. As the leader and the bum-rusher tossed and turned trying to get up the man on the far right heard a gasp come from the carriage, and looked at the woman who had made the sound but had to quickly swivel to look to his left where she was looking only to have his vision filled with the visage of Blue Demon. It happened in a flash and the man couldn't believe it but he wound up having the said short monstrosity leap and lock the bottoms of his legs around his neck, only for him to wind up landing on his back from his assailant using momentum to spin and flip the man. Before he could gather his wits, he was met with a swift kick to the temple and was sent to the blessed land of dreams. As the leader and his fallen friend finally roused themselves to their feet they saw one of their fellow bandits rush the now clearly short looking blue faced monster with a spear. However it wound up being for naught as the monster stepped forward let the man get the spear within striking distance and proceeded to snap the wooden pole with what looked to be a martial arts block using both arms as he brought them both up and down respectively on both sides, snapping the weapon three times before jabbing the man once in the gut and then twice on both sides of his neck seemingly paralyzing him. Both of his comrades came charging at the boy on the ground while the final one in the tree above the caravan drew and loosed an arrow at the demon, but to the surprise of all involved the demon actually caught the arrow dropped to one knee and pulled a bow off its own back and returned the arrow piercing right next to the archers face cutting the string off his bow in the process.

The bandits on the ground both sputtered for a moment and then attempted to retaliate, but the blue faced demon dove into the bushes and seemingly disappeared. Both of them started to look through the forest trying to pierce the veil of the dark that was still covering the area, but were quickly put into a deeper state of panic as they called out to their archer and came to find that he hadn't even gotten the chance to re-string as he was now hanging upside down unconscious from the tree next to the one he had been posted in.

The two didn't get to panic though as suddenly the figure dropped between them and they found a pair of curved blades pointed at both of their throats. The figure quickly slid under one of the men after retracting his blades, quickly kicking the man with the hat in his nether regions before flipping up. He then spun and was forced to parry a katana that had been brought to bear against him, but quickly dropped his blade is his left hand catching it with the top of his left foot. The demon then jabbed the last man standing four times with the last jab being against his enemies temple, and then tossed his sword back up with his foot caught it in his left hand and then pivoted and kicked the floored bandit with the white hat in his temple knocking him out.

The caravan couldn't believe what they had seen, the bandits had them completely cornered and had killed their protection before reaching this outcropping. They had believed they were going to die or worse in the case of the women and children, but this was not to be as they had been saved by what could only be considered a demon… or maybe an angry spirit. A very un-assuming man named Saizo with no surname had watched the whole thing and couldn't believe not only the skill with which this, _thing,_ had disposed of the raiders but the size of their savior. If their hero was human, they would be just a child… and that in itself was a frightening thought. Saizo had heard of and seen quite a few shinobi, and their savior had moved just like one… but the hero did not bear a mark of a village. Saizo was taken from his thoughts as he blinked only once and somehow the bodies of the unconscious bandits were gone, and their savior was standing directly before him seemingly staring at him in curiosity. The demon/hero merely inclined its head slightly, and then bolted into the forest from whence it came without a sound but light breathing. It was at that moment that Saizo knew the world was soon going to experience great change and that he had to get word to the Daimyo's court to let the high lord himself, and the Village Hidden in the Leaves know… they had been saved by a Blue Spirit.

Naruto slowly trekked back to the clearing he had tied up the first set of bandits and then brought up his hands palms facing up, after setting into a horse stance which burst the ground and brought up the gaggle of bandits from beneath the earth. He set himself to quickly tying them up alongside their fellow bandits and then proceeded to relieve them of their personal effects as he had the others, and then tied them all together leaving them in the forest.

As Naruto made his way back to his own secluded part of the forest he was brought out of his musings when he came upon his two spirit companions sitting awaiting his return. As he approached his two teachers Momo flew back into the clearing, and landed on his shoulder licking his right cheek as a hello before the lemur began to scratch at his own head.

"I could feel the whole thing… you did very well for your first fight goldilocks. I do have a few notes but all in all you showed excellent skill and your timing was good, but as a reminder you need make sure you don't let yourself get overwhelmed. Had you been any slower at that one point that archer would have killed you, I was going to step in but Ty Lee insisted that you handle it yourself." The blind Earth-bender said as she sat against a tree glancing in our young hero's general direction as he slipped off his mask and took up a lotus sitting position on the ground in front of her.

"Sorry Sensei, I'll try and be more careful from now on. Truthfully I hadn't felt that guy in the tree until the last minute, I guess I'm gonna have to train my seismic sense better. All in all though, I'd say it was a good first outing." The boy said with a slight frown before it morphed into a little grin as he quickly slammed a hand on the ground, and brought up the bag of valuables he had procured from the bandit's stash that was with their horses.

Ty Lee came over from near the stream in the clearing and began to gander at the haul the young boy had procured for himself, and quickly sprouted a huge smile of her own seeing the things he had taken from the thieves. All in all even though the spirit guides were from another world she knew without a doubt that any merchant would be willing to pay decent money for the jewels in the bag. The scrolls would be worth much more to the right buyer after hearing they were jutsu scrolls, and Naruto would have no need for them himself so why not make some profit from them.

After a few hours of sitting and having had a proper breakfast and re-dressing into his clothes that he had left the village in, the boy realized he would now need to go into town for the first time. His original outfit was now getting a little small and already was somewhat worn from the weather, and he would need to stock up so that as time went by he would have outfits for the inclement weather of the spring.

"I think I'm ready to go into town, and whether I'm ready or not I've got to go and get new clothing." The boy said as he slipped his blindfold around his eyes and grabbed a large walking stick he had fashioned for himself using the widdling skills he had learned from Zuko. He then proceeded to walk in the direction of Tanzaku town. As he started to walk away his teacher's offered him minor advice reminding him to not utilize his full bending abilities, and that he really needed to keep an eye out for any shinobi as it stood that his parents may have notified people to keep an eye out for him. Naruto listened to the words as he signaled for Momo to fly over to him and said lemur did so perching upon his partner's right shoulder, preparing for the trip into town with his friend.

The Trek to Tanzaku town was a slightly long one, it had taken Naruto an hour and a half to reach the edge of the town and he had been going at about one quarter of his full speed. The first thing the boy noticed through his seismic sense was that the town was only about half the size of his home village. The second and most prominent thing he could sense was how many people there were in the village, it seemed as though the amount of people visiting put the populace above his once homes size even though the size was not proportionate. He could here vendors from the other side of the town all shouting happily selling their wares whether it was children toys, food, or clothing, the town was bustling with activity with the old buying what they needed and the children playing. Upon closer inspection though Naruto could tell that this place was just like home in a lot of ways as well, focusing his mind he could hear the whispers and he knew the truth… this place was just as bad if not worse than his home village.

 _Flashback_

 _It was a beautiful autumn day in the village hidden in the leaves just a week before our young heroes birthday and Naruto was actually experiencing a good day with his mother and sister. Mito could be seen perched on her mother's shoulders, while Naruto was standing to her right holding her hand. They were walking in the direction of the Uchiha compound to go and see the young heiress of the clan Satsumi, and her beautiful mother Mikoto. As they were nearing the final bits of their trek to the compound though the young boy broke from his mother's grasp and walked to a less than busy main thoroughfare, and looked down the road to see children in rags, angry looking men with weapons, and women that seemed to have almost no clothes to wear. Upon realizing where her son had gone Kushina Namikaze quickly went up to Naruto and grabbed her sons hand, and then proceeded to pull him with a little more force to get him to go towards the Uchiha's compound. As they got a bit from the seeding looking street however the boy turned to his mother and voiced what had been plaguing his mind._

" _Mommy, why does everyone over there seems so angry, why do all the other kids look dirty, and why are the ladies there almost naked?" The boy asked in a very innocent voice with his head cocked to the right as he looked up at his mother._

" _Oh hunny I'm sorry you had to see that. Naruto you need to understand… the village is a big place, and because of that we are always expanding. The problem with that though is we have a lot of people coming from all over the world to live here, so sometimes there just isn't enough. Eventually your father will get a handle on what's going on, but for now things are going to be tough on everyone." His mother said putting on the best smile she could. Kushina knew lying to her children was something she didn't want to do, but felt it was necessary to protect her children until they were old enough to understand._

 _As the family got to the right they needed to make to go see the Uchiha clan Naruto's eyes had a look of curiosity and sadness to them, giving away the boys thoughts to anyone who cared to pay attention._

' _Why do I feel like mom was just saying that to make me feel better? No one should have to live like that.' The boy thought as he faced back forward the sad look turning to a determined one as the family continued to walk._

' _This is wrong…someone needs to change things.'_

End of Flashback

Naruto could hear the children begging around the corner in the back alleys, he could hear the women propositioning men from far away with _'a good time'_ , and then his ears picked up a cry for help. It had been so small, so weak, and all he knew was that once he heard it he couldn't stop himself. He quickly darted to his right dropping his blindfold around his neck and then sprinted down the alleyway to his right, he then started to run full out towards the voice he could hear calling for help. He vaulted over a table with pots and bowls made of clay causing the vendor to yell and shake a fist at him, and then ran up a five foot wall catching the roofs edge he quickly kicked the wall and flipped up onto the roof and then rolled over to the middle of the roof and could see through the window what he had stumbled upon.

Below him in the room were two men walking towards a young girl with red hair, much like his mother's but this girl was nowhere near as old as his mom more like his age maybe just a year or two older. The girl was only dressed in a long grey t-shirt to cover her modesty, and she had an object that Naruto could remember being called a flute clutched close to herself using both hands. Naruto could see the tears streaming down her face and then took a moment to focus his hearing, and then heard what the two planned to do and was horror stricken.

Down below in the broken down apartment…

Tayuya Katayama was only a seven year old girl…and in her short life she had come to know that people were cruel. Her mother had been a courtesan one of the best had you asked her own opinion on the matter, and her father was no one to her… she had never met him.

Her mother used to tell her stories in the few kind moments she had given the girl, telling her of a once proud clan that had red hair, was skilled with swords, and with scripture. She had told her how the once proud house of Uzumaki had made the elemental nations tremble with the mere mention of their name. She told her of sealing, swords, and death… the gifts her clan had been blessed with. Tayuya had taken up none of these traits though, as it seemed her skill lay with music. The girl had picked up the flute at age 5 and had since to put it down; it had become her livelihood after all when her mother passed. She had come home to find her mother face down naked with her throat slit. The girl tried to mourn her mother but couldn't find it in herself to cry, as the woman had neglected her and left her all but forgotten after the age of four. Now unfortunately it seemed she would share her mother's fate, as it were that she went to play her flute for a crowd to make her poultry earning for the day when low and behold she had visitors of the worst kind. The men had been at her door and the moment she opened it she was me t with a front snap kick that sent her tumbling backward into her little apartment, her back cracking against the wall. She attempted to sit up only to find herself to exhausted the pain from the blow being enough to keep her on her knees.

The two men were very plain looking one with short hair the other long, both of them looking to be young teens or just barely grown adults she would never know. They both began their approach to her, one with a knife in his hands while the other was removing his vest the only thing covering his upper torso. They were both taunting her telling what would happen and that she would be powerless to stop it, how they wanted her to fight so that they could bloody her in more ways than one. However… it would never happen because when they were both a foot from her the ceiling window of her apartment broke and through the falling glass a young boy fell. With a quick landing and a tumble the boy was upon them a dagger in the left leg of the man to her right, and with a spinning flourish the boy booted the man on her left in the front of his right knee causing a very loud pop followed by a string of obscenities from the man as he fell to the floor clutching said limb. The boy then spun on his heel removed the knife from the still standing assailant and all at once had jabbed the man twice in his exposed sides and then once to the throat. The second of the men felled he turned and offered her a hand…

Tayuya was in shock. This kid, this boy who was probably her age or younger had dropped both of those men like it were nothing. She could only stare at his hand for a moment in shock before grabbing it and allowed him to heft her to her feet before he quickly made her follow him out the front door before she found herself strangely numb. The feeling in her body left her and she felt really heavy and that's when the boy first spoke to her…

"Sorry your gonna feel numb for a bit… but these two are trash and I've got to deal with them. I'll be right back." The young blonde boy said to her as he set her down against the wall outside her apartment before he went back inside shut the door and proceeded to lock the door signaling what she believed would be her assailant's dooms.

Tayuya could only sit and nod dumbly for a moment and then she heard a few muffled shouts and a lot of banging, and then something happened that she didn't expect. She found herself smiling like she had only a few other times in her life, while tears began to leak down her face.

"No clue who that dumbass is… but I guess I owe him one." The girl, said as she sat waiting for her unknown hero to exit her apartment.

After what seemed like forever to the young girl the would be hero stepped out of her apartment, came over to her with a light smile on his face and he had with him a strange little white monkey sitting on his… wait a monkey. Had the little creature been with him the whole time? Tayuya found herself questioning what was going on before she felt two little smacks and realized the boy had hit her, most probably a second time. This quickly brought a stain of red to her face out of anger and she belted him one over the head causing a large lump to appear.

"WHAT THE HELL? Who do you think you are hitting me you little shit; I should beat the living snot out of you. WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM?" the girl half yelled questioning her savior.

'WOW… she hits hard.' Naruto thought as he pulled himself out of the small dent in the earth he had made when his head collided with the ground. He then looked up rubbing the lump on his head and quickly his face morphed into one of agitation and then thrust his right hand forward pointing an accusatory finger at the girl before going on his own slight tangent.

"WHAT THE HELL IS RIGHT. What's the matter with you I just saved your butt and that's the thanks you give me a lump on the head? And what's a matter with you ya potty mouth didn't your mom ever teach you proper manners?!" The boy stated while he looked at the young girl.

He was quickly brought out of that though as a second fist came at his face and he quickly caught it, looking at the girl as she seethed in rage at him gnashing her teeth together like a mad dog tears silently streaming down her face.

"FUCK YOU… YOU LITTLE SNOT! What do you know anyway huh? I didn't ask you to save me; I would have been fine on my own. I've always been on my own, what would you know about that huh. I bet mommy and daddy coddle your bright little sunshine ass so don't talk to me about…" The girl had started. Tayuya was angry, grateful but angry. This kid may have saved her, but he had no right to try and lecture her like he was some big shit adult.

She had started to tear into him and was content to continue, but the boy let go of her hand and stood up and started to stalk away from her with a light scowl on his face. He only got about a few feet away when he looked over his shoulder down the alley at her with a look of slight contempt on his face but in his eyes she saw something more… sadness and was the other thing Understanding?

"I get it I'm nobody to you but the least you could have done was say thanks… but then again what kind of guy would I be if I just let those jerks do what they wanted. Anyway your safe now and those guys aren't coming here again I promise you that, so with a bid you adieu." The boy said with what was obviously a mock salute over his shoulder at her.

Tayuya sat dumbfounded unblinking as she watched the boy walk a few feet and then take a right walking away leaving her to sit in the alleyway alone, all the while with just a single thought going through her mind.

'Who the hell was that boy?'

The day had been rather uneventful after that for Naruto. He had traveled through the town and picked up a few sets of clothes much like his original, and had gotten some food. He now had a new sack carrying five pairs of clothes consisting of black mesh shirts, dark green vest and pants with gold outline, and two sets of light leather greaves and bracers. Naruto could now be seen walking down the main thoroughfare wearing one of his new outfits holding his new large backpack containing his new clothes and an updated map from Tanzaku leading all the way to the borders of the land of wind.

'Sensei said that were gonna work on Sand-bending next so the Land of Wind is the best place to go I guess, but still I wonder what that's gonna be like.' The boy thought as he walked along the main road leading back towards his current home.

As the boy continued and re-adjusted his black cloth around his eyes, his seismic sense alerted him to someone following him. He turned and spotted the girl that he had saved earlier, noticing that she seemed even more exhausted than she did when he first came upon her. He walked up to her and was standing only a few steps from her, when he was surprised that before she could even speak she collapsed to her hands and knees. He quickly forgot his thoughts to chew her out for her earlier reaction to him and simply walked up to her and picked her up bridal style and decided that it would be easier for both of them if he took her with him so after securing his hold on the flute player he began a slow walk back to his cave with said girl passing out within moments of their trip.

The next Tayuya knew she was waking up in a cave, which that in of itself freaked her out. She sat up quickly, but regretted the decision as she felt deep pain in her ribs from the earlier kick she received in her apartment. After a moment the girl turned and saw the blonde who had saved her earlier, he was standing over a small pot which had steam rising from it showing that he was cooking. He turned to the girl and brought forth a bowl which had what looked to be soup in it, he placed it in front of her and then took a few steps back waiting to see what she would do. Tayuya sat forward and quickly began to devour the contents of the bowl after getting the first taste, and within a moment the bowl was empty which was punctuated by the loud belch she let out afterward. Redness blossoming on her face after listening to the blonde boy chuckle she then schooled her face into a scowl and pointed at him.

"Alright blondie first off where are we, second what the hell was that earlier? All of it. I mean you show up out of nowhere, save my ass, and then you kidnap me?! What are you some kind of pervert?" The girl asked causing the boy to spit out the water he was drinking, after the whole tangent she went through with an indignant look on his face.

"Hey let's get something straight okay, One I saved your butt because it was the right thing to do I said so earlier. Two what the hell is wrong with you? "Are you a Pervert?" what the hell is with that I help you, feed you, and I get bullshit accusations. You sure know how to show your gratitude. Look there are some clothes right there that I bought today for lounging that pair is for you so you can walk yourself back to town. I'm heading out in a bit so if I were you I'd get yourself ready and head on back." The boy said as he seemed to be packing what meager belongings he had into a large bag.

"Hey you didn't answer my questions. Where the hell you going you outta here already I just met you today. Look… I'm not really good at this so let's just get this outta the way alright. Thank you. I know it doesn't mean much now ways after the fact but… thank you. My name's Tayuya." The girl said as she stood up and stretched before starting to remove her shirt causing Naruto to quickly have to turn to avert his eyes.

After getting herself dressed the two talked for a bit, Tayuya telling him a little of her life and how things had been before she met him though she left out the specific details of her family. Afterward Naruto told her even less than she spoke of herself before looking off to the side for a moment, he then slid his feet apart and brought his hands palms down and caused three elevated slabs of rock that Tayuya realized were beds to sink back down and leave the ground once again smooth like the rest of the cave. Tayuya could only stare wide eyed at the display before she backed out of the cave quickly falling on her butt. She was immediately on high alert… he was a shinobi. She had seen them a few times before, the people who could manipulate the elements that carried weapons and performed odd jobs if paid the right price. But this boy didn't have a symbol; he didn't seem to have a home village.

She felt frightened but the boy who she now knew was named Naruto seemed to pick up on her discomfort and explained that he wasn't a shinobi and that he was something a little different. He didn't really go any further into it with her, only that he wasn't one of them and that while he didn't particularly care for the way they did things he had no real ill will for them either. He walked over and helped her stand and when he pulled his hand away from hers she found that he had given her a wadded up set of Ryo notes. Immediately she was on guard but once again was put at ease as he told her that it was a gift, and that he wanted her to use it wisely and that he wanted her to take care of herself. He then turned back to the cave and once again slightly widened his stance, but this time brought both arms up in an ark with his palms facing down and with that motion the entrance to the cave sealed shut. Tayuya once again could only stare and decided that she could at least introduce herself to him properly…

"Hey… my names Tayuya Uzumaki Takayama, I'm from the Uzumaki clan. Be sure to stop through town if you ever pass back through so I can see you again okay you blonde moron?" She said with a very peaceful smile on her facing realizing that she would actually miss the boy who had saved her life, not knowing that the boy who had his back to her was having a moment of utter disbelief.

After taking a moment to discuss with his spirit guides who had dismissed themselves back to his mindscape whether or not what he was about to do was a good idea he turned to the girl with a light smile on his face.

"My name's Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. I'm the Avatar and I'm on a mission to become strong and when I get strong enough I'm gonna save the world." The boy said while pointing at himself.

Tayuya was in shock immediately when she processed all the boy had said. She had no idea what an Avatar was but if she had heard him right he too was from the Uzumaki clan, that made them family. Albeit they would be of the distant variety she actually had a form of kin standing right in front of her, and the fact that she did left her speechless. Thankfully though she was able to process what the boy said next.

"Look I'm only going to say this once so pay attention. My family is back in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and it's a long way from here. That being said there's a carriage that leaves tomorrow morning from Tanzaku, and in three days' time it will get to the village. Get on it with some of the Ryo notes I gave you and go there, and then ask to meet Kushina Uzumaki Namikaze. Don't tell her you met me… no matter what do not bring me up. I left for my own reasons and until I figure this stuff out I'm not going back. Go there and tell her who you are, trust me she'll make sure you have a place to go." The boy said as he turned and started walking in the direction Tayuya knew was the Land of Wind.

"Wait a minute why are you helping me like this you ass, why not take me with you instead. It's gonna get lonely on the road and…" Tayuya started to argue but was silenced when Naruto turned back to her once more with a hand raised.

He explained to her that he needed to move fast and that he was leaving now because he would need to reach the edge of the dessert by tomorrow morning to stay on his schedule. The girl tried to argue but he said that he was sorry and that he was happy to have met her, and that maybe the spirits willing they would meet each other again. Before he broke out into a sprint leaving her in the clearing alone he told her something that made her decide to follow his advice…

"If you go to the Leaf they can teach you to be a ninja, and then you'll have a better chance of seeing me again, and then you won't need to be saved again… after all most Uzumaki were shinobi before, maybe you can do them proud and learn to be one now." Naruto said as he darted off into the forest leaving the red head to her thoughts.

After the blonde left her Tayuya sat looking at the forest where her savior had taken off, and it was at that moment that a shit eating grin sprouted on her face. She turned on her heel and started speed walking back to Tanzaku town, with one firm thought blossoming in her mind.

'I'm gonna get strong…and one day I'm gonna see you again when you least expect it blondie. And when that day comes it's gonna be me saving you'. The girl thought as she put both her hands behind her head holding her flute wondering if maybe she could learn to use her flute to fight…after all it could happen right?

After getting out of his seismic sense range where he could sense Tayuya, Naruto voiced if now was the best time to go to his spirit guides and they both resolutely agreed. Toph explained that while it wasn't a bad thing to help the girl, he really wasn't supposed to allow people to know where he would be held up so that for now moving on was for the best. She also went on to tell him how it was crucial for him to now work on sand bending as it took a serious amount of control to master but that once he did it would be very useful. Our young hero would soon come to find out how much so.

Putting on his best smile Naruto relaxed and slipped further back into his mind and felt for Aang's energy. As soon as he felt it he took hold and could hear his teacher commending him for how far he had already come in his training, and for how he took care of Tayuya.

The two had a brief conversation on what he would be doing next all the while Naruto could hear Toph and Ty Lee discussing how they would increase his training once they settled somewhere near the dessert. As soon as Naruto was sure he and Aang had a firm footing for what to cover during his next meditation training, and that his two spirit guides were finished he took hold of the all-encompassing power of the Avatar state. He then gave the helm to Aang and that allowed Naruto to enter his mindscape to go over more basics for chi blocking with Ty Lee. Aang then once more with a slight grunt of effort kicked off the ground and began to Earth-skate towards the connecting border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.

Moments after our young hero departed the clearing, two separate figures at opposite sides of the clearing could be seen leaping off into the shadows one bound for the deeper reaches of the Land of Fire… the other headed towards the Land of Earth.

 **End Chapter.**

 **So what's up all? Hope everybody had happy holidays. Things have been hectic but I'm trying to do my best. I hope ya'll like this chapter and remember please pass the word on and leave on comments you have. Thanks so much for following and favs so far… I hope to not let you guys down. Remember be safe, and for goodness sake it is the season stay away from the yellow snow. Sojiro out!**

 **Ja Ne.**


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